The Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010 noted a sharp rise in deaths, injuries and crimes tied to the abuse of prescription drugs. Accidental overdose deaths involving prescription opioids more than doubled over a four-year period, while the number of treatment admissions for prescription opioids increased 74 percent. Over a five-year period, violent crimes and property crimes associated with abuse and theft of prescription drugs increased in every region of the United States. The largest population of new abusers of prescription drugs is teenagers; among teenagers, prescription drugs were the second most-abused drug.
Disposal of unused, unwanted, or expired prescription and non-prescription drugs is a challenging task. Agents and offices of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) can take possession of prescription drugs or direct the owner to a “reverse distributor” capable of disposing of prescription drugs. Some state and local law enforcement agencies also have established drug disposal programs to facilitate the collection and destruction of prescription drugs.
If official collection is unavailable, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) recommends mixing prescription drugs with “unpalatable” substances such as used kitty litter or coffee grounds. The FDA also suggests that highly toxic or dangerous prescription drugs, such as morphine, oxycodone and Percocet, be disposed of in a sink or toilet. When getting rid of non-prescription drugs, many users simply discard them in a waste receptacle or dispose of them in a sink or toilet.
All of these methods of drug disposal contain serious flaws and hazards.
Transporting prescription drugs to a DEA office or reverse distributor may be extremely time-consuming; as a result, people may put off the task, creating an increased chance of accidental use or intentional misuse of the prescription drugs, especially for particularly dangerous prescription drugs. Facilities known to be storing large quantities of prescription drugs, for either transportation or disposal, may be subject to break-ins or theft by staff. People transporting large quantities of prescription drugs from locations such as a long-term care facility may be subject to attacks from criminals, particularly if the prescription drugs are valuable if resold. Waiting for a local program also increases the chances of accidental use or intentional misuse of the prescription drugs.
Personally disposing of prescription and non-prescription drugs presents the risk of improper disposal, permitting drug abusers and children to gain access to the drugs. Moreover, personal disposal of drugs may be unfeasible for large quantities and dangerous if different drugs react chemically with each other when comingled. Simply throwing drugs out, flushing them down a toilet or washing them down a sink introduces them into the ground or water supply, potentially causing environmental contamination.
Prior art systems attempt to provide convenient and efficient disposal of prescription and non-prescription drugs. These systems combine the drugs with liquid neutralizing chemical compositions to destroy the drugs. These neutralizing chemical compositions have a specific pH composition and are usually included in a container to which the drugs can be added. The neutralizing chemical compositions dissolve the drugs, rendering them unusable as well as unpalatable. A user then throws out the container with the neutralizing chemical composition and dissolved drugs.
These prior art systems for drug disposal also contain major flaws.
Before, during and after use, the container can be damaged by expansion of the neutralizing chemical composition due to freezing, foaming or chemical reaction with the introduced drugs. Gases produced by the interactions of different drugs or by the dissolution process may also damage the container. Furthermore, because the neutralizing chemical composition remains in a liquid state, it may leak from the container after disposal. In addition to contamination from the dissolved drugs, the neutralizing chemical composition itself may cause ground and water pollution. Additionally, the neutralizing chemical compositions used require extensive pH balancing due to the numerous ingredients used in their manufacture. Minor manufacturing errors and different rates of ingredient break down may destabilize the neutralizing chemical composition, rendering it ineffective.
There is an unmet need for a system capable of destroying prescription and non-prescription drugs rapidly, effectively and on-demand without the risk of harm to the environment.
There is a further unmet need for a system capable of safely disposing of prescription and non-prescription drugs without the risk of causing damage to the system itself.